A Good Deed
by lord of the land of fire
Summary: Even someone as cruel and selfish as Tanya can still do something nice now and again. One shot.


Major Tanya von Degurechaff was flying above a section of the Rhine front. There was a heavy artillery barrage and steady machine gun fire all along the line. The Republic was obviously getting ready to launch another one of their stupid attacks. Before long their soldiers would go over the top and be mowed down. Thousands would die, and if things went well for the enemy they might take the empire's forward trench lines and advance a few thousand yards. It was a very ugly, very wasteful, sort of war. By its very nature, all war tended to be, but the current conflict was on a completely unprecedented scale.

At least in this world.

As commander of the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion she had seen and survived some of the worst fighting of the war. The 203rd was a rapid response unit that got thrown in wherever things were most desperate. This wasn't one of those fights, though. It was nothing but a regular, small scale, enemy attack. Whether it succeeded or failed the front would not move more than a mile. There was certainly no danger of an enemy breakthrough. Her unit was currently in reserve. She wasn't flying over the front now as part of any specific mission. Instead she'd come out here with her adjutant to 'inspect' the front lines. Though she actually had something else in mind.

"Follow me."

"Yes, ma'am!" Second Lieutenant Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov responded.

Tanya rocketed down towards the Imperial trenches with Serebryakov on her heels. The sight of two imperial mages drew some machine gun fire, it always did. Tanya didn't notice. Ordinary bullets were no threat to her. She touched down in the trench line, a couple of seconds later the second lieutenant landed right beside her. The soldiers were huddled together waiting for the assault they all knew was coming. Machine gun bullets and artillery shells were a lot more than nuisances to them.

The infantrymen all gawked at her. It was rare for them to see a mage right up close, and she was sure seeing one who was also a little girl made it even more memorable.

"Who's in command here?" She shouted.

It took a moment. Eventually an officer in a muddy coat ran over to her, hunched low. He hurriedly saluted.

"Captain Max Fuschsl, first company, 16th Bavarian Reserve Regiment."

Tanya returned the salute. "Major Tanya von Degurechaff, commander of the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion. What unit is to your immediate right, Captain?"

The man blinked. "The Second Saxony Division."

Tanya nodded. From a pocket, she took out a slip of paper and a pencil. She scribbled a short two-word message. Serebryakov was standing right beside her and saw what was written. Tanya folded the paper in half and then in quarter.

"I need your best runner to deliver this to the commanding officer of that unit, immediately!"

The man's brows both rose and she saw him glance at her flight equipment. No doubt he was wondering why she didn't just deliver it herself, as that would be both faster and safer. But in the Imperial Army, field officers did not question orders from their superiors.

"Yes, ma'am." He took the slip of paper from her. "Hitler!"

A young soldier with a small mustache hurried up to Captain Fuschel and snapped off a quick salute. "Sir?"

The captain handed him the note. "Deliver this to General Buchwald, immediately!"

"Yes, sir!" Hitler slid the paper into a coat pocket and took off without another word.

Tanya watched him as he went. The captain obviously misinterpreted her expression as one of concern.

"Lance corporal Hitler is our best runner, ma'am. He's very brave and reliable. He even won the Iron Cross, first class. Though, of course, moving between the trenches while under fire is always a risk."

"True," Tanya replied. "Let's hope God is with him."

She launched herself back into the sky with Serebryakov right behind her. Tanya didn't immediately head back to her command though. Instead, she found a spot about a thousand meters above the ground and hovered there. She took out a pair of binoculars and began searching.

"Uh, ma'am?" A worried Serebryakov was glancing back towards the enemy lines. "If we stay in one spot the artillery is going to target us."

"It's fine."

She searched the trenches and soon found him, Corporal Hitler. He was obviously brave and a veteran. He moved fast and low, keeping out of sight as much as possible. But there was no avoiding exposing himself as he went between the trenches. He leapt into shell craters and then paused before going out again. He really was good at his job. She began to think he would make it. He got within about twenty yards of the neighboring dugouts when she saw his body suddenly twist and jerk about. He crumpled to the ground and did not move again. She nodded to herself and put the binoculars away.

"Well that's done."

"Ma'am?"

"It seems mister Hitler won't be delivering my message. It's a shame."

Serebryakov began to fidget.

"What?"

"Ah, I saw your message. All you wrote was, 'you're welcome.' What was the point?"

Tanya shrugged. "Well, it would look strange if I ordered a soldier not in my unit reassigned to pill box, wouldn't it? Running messages while under fire is extremely dangerous. If a runner is killed no one thinks twice about it."

Serebryakov gulped. "But why? What did he do to you?"

"To me? Nothing, I never met the man."

"Then why would you send a brave soldier to his death for no reason at all?!"

Tanya gave her one of those smiles that always made the other girl twitch. "Because even someone like me can do a good deed, even if no one will ever thank me for it."

Serebryakov just stared back with her mouth hanging open.

"Now come on, let's get back to camp."


End file.
